Boeing debuts longest-range 737 MAX 7 aircraft for service in 2019

U.S. aerospace leader Boeing Company Monday rolled out its first and longest-range 737 MAX 7 aircraft at its factory in Washington state on the U.S. west coast.

Boeing said in a statement Monday that the MAX 7 is the third and newest member of Boeing's 737 MAX family to come down the assembly line.

The jet is capable of carrying 172 passengers with a maximum range of 3,850 nautical miles (about 7130 kilometers), which is the longest range of the MAX airplane family.

Boeing said the latest model of the 737 family flies 1,000 nautical miles (about 1850 kilometers) farther than its predecessor, the 737-700, while having 18 percent lower fuel costs per seat.

It noted that the MAX 7 carries 12 more passengers and 400 nautical miles (about 741 kilometers) farther than its Airbus rival, the A319neo, on 7 percent lower operating costs per seat.

"This is the third 737 MAX family member our team has successfully introduced in just three years," said Keith Leverkuhn, vice president and general manager of the 737 MAX program of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

The 737 MAX 7 is scheduled to enter service in 2019, following delivery to launch customer Southwest Airlines, a major U.S. airline headquartered in Dallas, Texas, which is the world's largest low-cost carrier.

Boeing said the 737 MAX series is the fastest-selling airplane in Boeing history, grabbing more than 4,300 orders from 92 customers worldwide.

Boeing delivered a record 763 jets to its customers across the world in 2017.

Last year, the Chicago-based aerospace giant registered about 93.4 billion U.S. dollars in revenues for the full year.